It is desirable in increasing situations to rapidly deploy independent devices (also referred to herein interchangeably as nodes), and in particular wireless mobile devices to establish a communication network. Significant examples include establishing survivable, efficient dynamic communication for emergency/rescue operations, disaster relief efforts, and military networks. Such network scenarios cannot rely on centralized and organized connectivity, and can be conceived as applications of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks or (MANET). A MANET is defined herein as an autonomous collection of mobile nodes that may enable communication over relatively bandwidth constrained wireless links.
In many instances, a large number of devices will need to be included in a MANET. For example, thousands of wireless sensors may need to be deployed or set up within minutes after arriving at a scene such as an emergency location. These sensors may be used, for instance, to monitor various parameters such as intrusion, environmental conditions and personnel at emergency locations. It is desirable that the sensors be deployed securely to prevent an attacker from joining, disrupting, or monitoring the network. Complicating this problem is that sensors from different services (fire, police, FBI, etc.) may need to be organized into a single network while preventing attackers (e.g., terrorists) from joining the network.
Thus, there exists a need for means for authenticating devices in order to establish an Ad Hoc network between the authenticated devices.